Inside Higher Ed

When Net Price Setting Pays Off

In 2013, the University of Dayton started a new fixed net-price tuition plan, promising most students that their financial aid packages would rise in lockstep with any increases in tuition sticker prices over four years -- keeping steady the effective price students pay. The four-year graduation rate for the class of 2017 jumped eight percentage points, hitting a record 67 percent. Student borrowing plunged, dropping by more than 22 percent overall. The average four-year graduate borrowed less than $18,000 in student loans -- $5,000 less than previous graduates who hadn't been part of the fixed net-price plan.